The field of the present invention relates to bowstring release devices used in archery. In particular, various examples of an assembly of a strap and a rigid handgrip for a bowstring release device, and methods of use thereof, are disclosed herein.
A wide variety of bowstring release devices are available for use in archery. Some examples are disclosed in:                U.S. Pat. No. 3,028,852 entitled “Bow string pulling device for archers” issued Apr. 10, 1962 to Sutton;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,898,974 entitled “Archery bowstring release” issued Aug. 12, 1974 to Keck;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,095 entitled “Bow string release device” issued May 4, 1976 to Lewis;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,060 entitled “Bow string release device” issued Jan. 3, 1978 to Napier;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,437 entitled “Archery bow string release device” issued Jul. 10, 1979 to Fletcher;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,594 entitled “Bow string release” issued Sep. 13, 1983 to Todd;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,426,989 entitled “Bow string release” issued Jan. 24, 1984 to Sutton;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,497 entitled “Bowstring release mechanism” issued Apr. 9, 1985 to Garvison;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,908 entitled “Bowstring release mechanism” issued Dec. 20, 1988 to Pellis;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,860,720 entitled “Bow string release device” issued Aug. 29, 1989 to Todd;        U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,128 entitled “Arrow release device” issued Jan. 1, 1991 to Garvison;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,508 entitled “Apparatus for selectively releasing a bowstring of an archery bow” issued Jun. 4, 1991 to Greene;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,610 entitled “Wrist support for hand-held devices” issued Jul. 20, 1993 to Spence;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,921 entitled “Archery bowstring release device” issued Sep. 28, 1993 to Todd;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,754 entitled “Strap assembly for bow string release mechanism” issued Jun. 28, 1994 to Pittman et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,167 entitled “Secure archery wrist strap” issued Jan. 21, 1997 to Scott;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,936 entitled “Ergonomic inertia bowstring release” issued Sep. 16, 1997 to Estrada;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,841 entitled “Wrist strap connector for a bowstring release” issued Aug. 17, 1999 to Summers et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,125,833 entitled “Wrap around bow string release strap” issued Oct. 3, 2000 to Tentler et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,991 entitled “Bowstring release with adjustable trigger” issued Mar. 27, 2001 to Summers et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,431 entitled “Bowstring release glove” issued Nov. 19, 2002 to Summers;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,710 entitled “Archery finger trigger release with cocking slide” issued Nov. 26, 2002 to Summers et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,284,546 entitled “Archer's glove for use with a bow string release” issued Oct. 23, 2007 to Maki et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,320,318 entitled “Strap for bow string release” issued Jan. 22, 2008 to Tentler;        U.S. Pat. No. 8,453,632 entitled “Bowstring drawing and release assist apparatus and method thereof” issued Jun. 4, 2013 to Immesberger et al; and        U.S. Pub. No. 2013/0025578 entitled “Archery release” published Jan. 31, 2013 in the name of Jones.        
Each of the preceding patents or applications is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
A typical archery release aid, including many of those disclosed in the preceding references, include a mechanical bowstring release device with a bowstring retention/release mechanism and a trigger mechanism operatively coupled to the retention/release mechanism. The bowstring retention/release mechanism can include jaws, one or more hooks, or other similar structure for retaining a bowstring, either directly or, more typically, indirectly by retaining a D-shaped loop attached to the bowstring (i.e., a so-called release loop); for the purposes of the present disclosure and appended claims, “retaining” or “engaging” the bowstring shall encompass both direct and indirect retention or engagement of the bowstring. The release device is usually attached to some type of strap, grip, glove, or similar structure that enables an archer to pull on the release device to pull the bowstring to draw the bow. Once the bow is drawn and aimed, the archer can actuate the trigger mechanism to release the bowstring (e.g., by opening a pair of jaws) and shoot the bow. Release aids can be advantageous for reasons that can include but are not limited to one or more of: tension on the bowstring is exerted on the retention/release mechanism instead of the archer's fingers; the retention/release mechanism can release the bowstring without introducing inadvertent lateral or vertical motion to the bowstring or arrow; the trigger can be actuated with minimal movement of the archer's hand or fingers; the force needed to draw the bow is distributed over a larger portion of the archer's fingers, hand, or wrist instead or being concentrated at the fingertips.